Reaching Okay
by brookethenerd
Summary: Annabeth and Percy have been best friends for as long as they can remember. This is the story of how they grew up, and how they fell in love.


**Reaching Okay**

Percy meets Annabeth on his first day of kindergarten. Percy is the youngest in his class, and doesn't want to leave his mother. But he walks into the class anyways, and that's when he sees her. Her hair is in a messy braid, her eyes are gray like a storm, and she is sitting by herself with the building blocks. The other kids are at the craft table, and that's where he would like to be, but this girl has his attention. He walks to where she sits on the floor, and plops down in front of her. The motion knocks down her small castle, and she looks up at him, glaring.

"I'm sorry." Percy whispers, and her eyes soften.

"It's okay." It seems she has noticed how nervous he is, and is going easy on him.

"I'm Annabeth." She says, and sticks her hand out confidently.

"Im-im Percy." He says, shaking her hand.

"Do you like building blocks?" She asks, looking at him expectantly.

He nods at her, and she smiles.

"I love them. I'm going to build something real one day when I'm big."

Percy nods again, and she narrows her eyes.

"You don't talk much." She says.

"I'm sorry." He says, not sure what he is supposed to say to this girl.

"You say sorry a lot." She says.

"I'm sorry." He repeats, and she laughs. It rings out clear, and it makes Percy smile too.

"Would you-would you like to be my friend?" Percy asks nervously, fidgeting.

Annabeth smiles.

"Of Course Seaweed Brain." He doesn't understand the nickname, but he smiles anyway. And as for his first day of kindergarten, everything is okay.

Annabeth's mother leaves for good in third grade. She walks home with Percy instead of going straight home, and he sees her holding back tears.

"Do you wanna come over? We can watch Nemo." He says, trying to cheer her up.

She smiles gratefully at him, and they spend the next few hours camped on Percy's couch, eating blue cookies his mother had made them. (For some reason he refuses to eat anything sweet that isn't blue) Afterwards, they go outside and lay in the backyard as the sun goes down.

"I'm sorry Annabeth." Percy says. Annabeth has been quiet all day, something that is very rare of Annabeth Chase. He grabs her hand, his fingers tiny in hers, and she lets him.

"It's not fair to promise something like that and then leave." She says, and Percy frowns.

"I will never break any of my promises." Annabeth looks over at him.

"You mean it?" She asks, her voice light.

He nods, and she does the same.

"We can get married, and I won't ever leave you." He tells her, and she laughs.

"You don't wanna marry me."

"Yep. I very much do." He stands up, pushing his chest out.

"I, Percy Jackson, will marry Annabeth Chase and be with her forever and never leave." Annabeth giggles, and hides her face.

"We can't get married Percy! We have to be 18!" She protests through her giggles.

Percy purses his lips, and then nods repeatedly.

"Okay. Then when were older, 18, we can get married."

"And," He jumps up onto one of his swings, "We will eat blue cookies and cupcakes and go swimming in the ocean every day."

Annabeth stands up, and hops onto the swing next to him.

"I accept your offer." She says, laughing as he tries to turn towards her and falls off the swing. She tips her head back and laughs as he lays on the ground in the grass.

It makes her forget about her parents, at least for a little while, and in that moment, everything is okay.

"That girl is looking at you." Annabeth says during lunch as they are getting their food. It is 6th grade, and lots of girls look at Percy. They glare at Annabeth, as she is always hanging out with him.

"Shut up." He says, blushing. Annabeth loves to point out the attention he gets, mostly because it makes him so uncomfortable. She looks over at Percy, who is complimenting the lunch lady on her new hairnet, and tries to see what the girls see. He is not yet filled out, but he has that skater look, his hair messy, his eyes a bright green. He is tall, and strong, but also a tad bit lanky. Maybe he is a little cute.

"I see you staring at me, Wise Girl." He says, winking at her. She blushes, but rolls her eyes.

"I was just looking at your shirt. And all of its wrinkles." She arches an eyebrow, and grins at him.

"Life is too short to iron your clothes." He says, heading towards the table in the courtyard they always sit at.

"Or maybe you're just too lazy to do it." She answers, pinching his side. She notices that the glares from the girls who conveniently place themselves around their table get a little darker. He pinches her back, then picks up his food, blissfully unaware of the silent war surrounding him. But she's sitting next to him, and he's telling her a joke, and everything is okay.

Percy joins the swim team in 7th grade. Annabeth goes to all of his meets. Lots of girls show up too, obviously to watch Percy. It bugs Annabeth, though she can't figure out why. The attention always makes Percy blush, and Annabeth always teases him for it.

She ends up sitting next to Percy's mom, Sally, who smiles a lot. Annabeth likes to pretend that Sally is her real mother, instead of the mother who stopped calling two years ago. Mrs. Jackson smiles big and laughs bright and Annabeth understands why Percy loves her so much. She can't help but love her too.

Sally asks how life at home is, and seems genuinely concerned.

Annabeth tells her that it's hard, and Mrs. Jackson tells her that she always has a place with them.

"Thank you so much." She says. There is genuine compassion in Sally's eyes, very different from the usual emptiness in her fathers.

Then Sally turns away, yelling as Percy swims and down his lane. Annabeth rubs the hint of tears from her eyes, and yells along with her. They wave the foam fingers Sally brought, and snack on gross nachos.

After it's over, Annabeth meets Percy by the locker room, where he is rubbing his wet head with a towel.

"Shake it like a dog, I hear that method works." She calls out, grinning as he pulls the towel off his face. He smiles when he sees her, and wraps her in a hug.

"I did it Annabeth. I qualified."

"I told you you would. Why would you ever doubt me?" She asks, pulling out of his arms. If it was any other boy hugging her, Annabeth would be embarrassed. But this was Percy.

"So are we getting ice cream?" It was a tradition that after every meet, they go get ice cream and see a movie.

Percy blushes, and looks down.

"Actually Emily invited me to get pizza. I kinda agreed to go." Percy says, rubbing the back of his neck. Annabeth's face falls, but she puts herself back together in a millisecond.

"Rain check?" He asks, face hopeful.

"Yeah. Totally." Annabeth nods, trying to ignore the pain that she feels in her chest.

"You rock."

"Congratulations. Have fun." She says, putting on a smile.

After Percy leaves, she walks aimlessly out of the school, starting the walk home.

And an hour later, she gets a call from Percy, telling her about how much fun he had. He tells her he's going out with Emily to a movie tomorrow, but they'll definitely hang out this weekend.

The pain in her chest is back, and she tells herself its nothing. She doesn't care what he's doing.

She tells herself all of these things. But she avoids thinking about the real reason. Truthfully, she doesn't want to admit it. She's jealous. And everything doesn't seem so okay anymore.

Its 8th grade, and Percy's mom is getting married to a nice man named Paul Blofis (Percy loves to make fun of his name). He invites her with him to the wedding, because 'they're best friends and he needs someone fun to go with'. Annabeth agrees to go, and goes out with her friend Rachel to find a dress. She gets one for $17 at goodwill, and decides she is ready. That night, she pins her hair a million different ways, not really knowing what she's doing. If there's anything Annabeth isn't, it's girly. The dress she chose is blue, with black flowers lacing up. It stops at the knee, and hugs her slowly-developing-figure nicely. At least, that's what Rachel tells her. She finally pins it in a way she hopes looks pretty, and heads down to find her dad. He drops her at the entrance to the banquet hall, and she heads in, glad that she chose flats over heels. She would have made a fool of herself.

She finds Percy in the main ballroom, where a few guests have already seated themselves. He's standing by the wall, nervously straightening his tie. His hair looks slightly less messy than usual, like he actually made an effort.

'He looks handsome'

The moment she thinks it, it stops her on her feet. Before she can reflect on it, Percy sees her.

"Annabeth!" He hurries over and stops in front of her.

"Thank god you're here. I'm freaking out. I can't figure out this damn tie and its hot, is it hot in here to you? It's really hot and I-"

Annabeth puts a hand over his mouth. He peels it back.

"Jeez, you'd think you were the one getting married. Calm down." She says.

"My mom's getting _married. _What if he turns out to be some psycho or something and we all get killed-"

"He's an English teacher. He throws back fish when he catches them. I think you're fine."

Percy sighs, but some of the tension leaves him.

"I'm glad you came. You look great." He says, his face lighting up in a smile. She grins back, and reaches up to fix his tie.

"There. All good. Now let's go find our seats.

They sit together through the ceremony, and Percy tears up when his mom says 'I do'. And to be honest, Annabeth does too. Sally and Paul look so happy. Annabeth decides then, that she will only marry someone who makes her as happy as Paul makes Sally.

She is suddenly reminded of a promise Percy made to her when they were kids, a promise to marry each other. It makes her stomach feel funny, so she directs her attention back to the ceremony.

Afterwards, Percy and Annabeth hover near the snack table. They stuff Hors d'oeuvre into their mouths, and avoid the dancing situation that would TOTALLY turn awkward. They have a really good time. Annabeth feels like she has her best friend back.

Not that things have really changed. They still have whipped cream fights and bicker over which movie to watch. But now Emily and her friends sit with them at lunch, and he spends some Friday nights hanging out with her instead of Annabeth.

She pushes all of that out of her mind as they run around tying people's laces together and putting weird things in people's drinks. They end up outside, where there is a little garden. Annabeth finds her way to a bench, and plants herself on it, feet aching despite the flat shoes. Percy sits next to her, and they tip their heads back and look at the stars. When they were younger, and Annabeth spent the night, they would go lay out in Percy's backyard and watch the stars. Annabeth taught Percy the constellations, and they made their own

It was like their own fortress of solitude, back under their stars.

"It's weird to think how everyone is growing up."

"What do you mean?" Annabeth whispers. They both keep their voices low, the darkness making it seem necessary.

"Were starting high school soon. My mom's married. Everyone's growing up so fast." He says. He turns towards her, and his face has a look of innocence on it, and Annabeth leans towards him, not even meaning to. They both jerk away a moment before their lips touch, Annabeth launching off the bench.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that. I really did not mean to do that." Annabeth stammers, rubbing her hands down her face.

"It's okay. It's okay Annabeth. We both had like 3 glasses of champagne. We're not really in our right heads."

Percy plays it off, and Annabeth goes along with it. There is an awkwardness in the air, and they both go back inside, sitting far apart on the benches. Annabeth texts her dad to pick her up, and when he comes, she doesn't tell Percy goodbye. She congratulates Sally, and hops in her dad's car.

For the next few days, there is a tension in the air between Percy and Annabeth. They ignore it, and soon enough, it fades. It's like it never happened.

But something has changed inside of Annabeth. When she looks at Percy, the pain in her chest flames. She ignores the feelings, and acts like they don't exist. And even though it's really not, everything is okay.

Its 9th grade, and the Spring Dance is two weeks away. No one asked Annabeth, but she really doesn't mind. She'd rather stay home and read anyways. But Percy is really excited, and she can't figure out why.

"What's got you all jumpy?" Annabeth asks, pointing her pencil at Percy's leg as they sit in the library. His knee is bouncing up and down, and his hands are rapping against the wood. They are in the library studying for a quiz they have the next day, and Percy is doing everything BUT studying the material in front of him.

"Huh?" He asks, looking up at her.

"Well you're being even more bouncy than usual, and you're being really weird, and I was wondering what you're freaking out about."

"I'm not freaking out."

"You're freaking out."

"I am not-"

"Wave been friends since kindergarten. I can tell when you're freaking out. Spill it." Annabeth says, leaning forward in her chair.

Percy takes in a breath.

"Imgoingtoaskemilyandlertothedance." His words spill out of his mouth so quickly Annabeth has to strain to hear them.

"What?" She asks, in shock.

"I'm going to ask Emily Andler to the dance." He looks pale, and Annabeth finds it funny how worked up he was over this girl, despite the pit in her stomach.

"When are you going to do it?" She asks, her tongue feeling thick and dry.

"Today at lunch."

She wants nothing more than to tell him not to, but she can't. She cares about him. If he wants to ask her out, she has to support him. She doesn't know why it matters to her anyways.

"You'll be fine. Don't stress out. If you do you'll puke on her or something." Annabeth says, wrinkling her nose.

Percy gets a horrified look on his face, and she sighs.

"You'll be fine." She repeats. He nod, and continues tapping his knuckles against the table. She sets her hand over them, stilling them.

"15 years old and a girl has got you all nervous. It's adorable." Annabeth teases.

"You mock me." He said, looking up at the ceiling.

"She probably finds it endearing. The whole 'blushes in the face of girls' aspect."

"You are horrible."

"I know. Now study. She's not going to want to go to the dance with an idiot."

The night of the dance, Annabeth sits curled up on Percy's bed reading a book as he gets dressed.

"Thanks for being here. I probably would be rocking in a corner without you." Percy says, emerging from his closet, three ties in his hand.

His black hair is tousled, and he looks up at her with his startling green eyes, and Annabeth loses her breath. She feels like she been hit by a truck, that's how fast it hits her.

"Which one?" He asks, holding them up for her to see.

"Blue. And no problem. Wouldn't want you to leave your date all alone while we shipped you off to the mental institution." She says, her voice cracking. She clears her throat. She prays that he won't notice, or at the very least won't say anything.

Percy gives her a look, and she gets off the bed, padding over to him.

"Are you sure you don't want to go?" Percy asks as Annabeth straightens out his shirt, brushing the wrinkles out with her hand.

"Yeah. I'm good. I'd rather stay home and watch a movie anyways." She smiles at him, and he purses his lips.

"You gonna be okay getting home?" He asks.

"You don't have to worry about me. Have fun. Don't stay out too late or get drunk or do anything I wouldn't do." She gives him a quick hug before heading to the door.

"Oh and Percy?" She asks, standing in his doorway.

He turns towards her and cocks his head.

"Yeah?"

"You look really handsome." She grins, and shuts the door behind her.

Annabeth spends the entire night staring at the wall as movies play on her TV screen. She pays attention to none of them. Instead, she is thinking about Percy, and how much she wishes he had asked her instead.

She admits to herself what has been true for a long time.

She loves him.

Percy calls her the next day, asking if she wants to get pizza. She agrees, eager to hear how his night went. A part of her (bigger than she wants to admit) hopes it went terribly, that he dumped something on Emily, or accidentally tripped her.

She heads into the pizza shop, and when Percy sees her he waves, grinning wide. She sit down across from him, and folds her arms across the table.

"I ordered your favorite." He says. It makes Annabeth feel funny, and she wishes she could turn off her heart, just for a little while.

'He's your best friend. He always orders for you. It's nothing more than that.'

"So….. How was it?" She asks, biting the inside of her cheek, scared of what he might say.

"It was awesome!" Annabeth's heart sinks.

"Emily looked beautiful in her dress. And when I stepped on her feet, she actually joked about it. She's really cool." He looks so happy, and Annabeth plasters a smile onto her face. Percy has been friends with Emily for a while, and she always knew he had a crush on her. Emily is involved in humanitarian clubs and takes regular classes and is everything Annabeth is not.

"That's great!"

"I wish you could have come. You would have had fun."

"I would have gotten in the way. I had a good time at home. There was a marathon on on National Geographic."

Percy's eyes glaze over, as they always do when she mentions anything like that.

The pizza comes to their table, half meat and half veggie, just how they always get it. Percy attacks it like an animal, and Annabeth picks at her piece.

"I have something to talk to you about." Percy says a few minutes later, after he polishes his half of the pizza, and half of her side.

"Hmm?" Annabeth murmurs, sipping on her coke.

"Emily and I are dating."

Annabeth nearly chokes on her drink, and jerks her head up.

"What?"

"She kissed me, and I kissed her back, and…"

She finds herself thinking of their almost kiss last year, and how much she wishes they hadn't pulled away.

"Are you okay?" Percy asks, looking at her curiously.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" She asks, shoving her hair behind her ears.

"You sure?"

"Yeah totally."

The look doesn't leave Percy's face, but he's always been clueless, so she imagines he's worried for some random reason. He pays the check, and wraps an arm around her shoulders as they leave the restaurant.

"You know I won't stop hanging out with you right? You're still my best friend." He says, nudging her.

"Huh?"

"That's why you looked all upset in there, right?"

A weight is lifted off Annabeth's chest, and she nods.

"Yeah. Sorry, I just," She searches her mind for an excuse, reaching blindly, "I just was scared you'd leave. Like my mom."

Percy turn her towards him, pulling her into a hug. She relishes in the warmth of his arms, pretending it's more than a friendly embrace.

"I'll never leave you."

And in that moment, her head pressed against Percy's chest, everything is okay.

It's halfway through their sophomore year, and Percy has been dating Emily for a year. Everyone tells them it's a miracle they've made it this long, and Annabeth can't help but admit they make a cute couple. And she still loves him, but it's different. More tame.

That's the thing about loving someone that long. Eventually, you learn to suppress your feelings. It becomes a habit, even. You hold back smiles, and pretend your heart doesn't pick up the moment they walk into the room.

There are still moments when he smiles a certain smile, or looks at her a certain way, that the feelings crash back into her. But they happen less and less as the months crawl by.

And the thing about Emily, is that you can't hate her. She has brown eyes that are soft and bright, and it's like they can see into your soul. The way she speaks makes you want to listen to her forever. She always makes people feel involved in the conversation. It's no surprise that Percy loves her.

She never takes Percy away from Annabeth.

Which makes it hard to hate her. No matter how much she wants too.

"So are you going to Percy's meet?" Emily asks, twirling a lock of her brown hair around her finger.

Percy blushes beside her, and both Annabeth and Emily laugh.

"Of course. You?"

"He begged me not too. Said I cheer too loud. Embarrass him, or something." She says, flashing her white teeth in a smile. Percy wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her towards him on the bench.

"You're louder than Annabeth, and that's saying something." Percy murmurs.

Annabeth tosses a fry at him, and Emily giggles.

"It's going to be SO loud with both of us there. I can't wait. You want to ride with me Annabeth? Percy has to take the bus, and it would be more fun with you there."

Annabeth smiles back, and nods.

"Yeah sure."

Percy leans over and whispers something to her, bringing that white smile back onto her face. Annabeth suddenly feels like she's intruding, and it hurts, because she wants so badly to be where Emily is right now.

"I have to go. I'll see you guys later." She says, picking up her bag.

"See ya after school, Wise Girl!" Percy calls out from behind her.

But she doesn't look back.

She doesn't want him to see her cry.

Annabeth is sitting in the front seat of Emily's car as they drive the hour and a half to Percy's regional swim meet.

"If he does well enough, he could get a scholarship! Even though he's a sophomore, scouts have been watching him."

Emily chatters nervously as they drive, and Annabeth inserts little comments when they are necessary.

She is nervous too.

She knows Sally can't afford to send him to college. He needs this.

"Hey Annabeth?" Emily asks, turning down the volume.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to step over any boundaries or anything I just need to know something." She seems genuinely concerned, and it perks Annabeth's attention.

"Okay."

"Do you…have…have feelings for Percy?" Her voice is soft and Annabeth's feels the blood leave her body.

"What?"

Emily looks over at her.

"Look I don't mean to-it just-I don't know-you've been friends for so long and if there's something there I don't want to intrude on that its just-it's just that I love him and I want him to be happy."

Annabeth takes a slow breath and licks her lips.

"No. There's nothing between us. He's my best friend. That's it." The words taste toxic in her mouth, and for a moment shes positive Emily knows shes lying. But Emily just smiles at her, and turns the music back up.

Percy places 2nd. Qualifier. Annabeth and Emily scream as they announce his name, and he blushes all the way to his toes, they can see it all the way from the stands.

After, they head down to the locker room entrance, waiting for him to come out.

He walks out, the medal hung around his neck, and he looks so happy. He sees them, and his face lights up even more.

Annabeth thinks he's coming to hug her, so she drops her bag, grinning.

But he doesn't.

He walks right past her, swinging Emily in a tight embrace.

"Congratulations." Emily says, her face in his neck.

"I love you." Annabeth hears his fierce whisper, and hears her say the same in response.

She turns away and walks out the car when he kisses her.

But she doesn't cry. Annabeth decides that she will never again cry over Percy Jackson. He doesn't deserve the tears.

Annabeth rides home with Emily, sitting in the backseat as she and Percy tell jokes and make each other laugh up front. She feels unwelcome, and stares out the window.

She wishes they could go back to when they were kids. When everything was okay.

It is 11th grade, and Percy is still dating Emily, and is still best friends with Annabeth, and she still loves him, and he doesn't know it, and she has given up.

You reach a point where there have been too many lonely nights, and hopeful days, a point where you just give up. The love still remains, but the hope doesn't.

Because Percy loves Emily and she loves him.

"What are you thinking about?" Percy asks, nudging her with his foot. They are camped out on his couch having a movie marathon, an old tradition.

"Hmm?" She asks, turning to look at him next to her on his small couch.

"You're not paying attention to this movie, that you picked I might add, so that means you're thinking about something. What is it?"

"Noth-"

"DON'T SAY NOTHING ANNABETH CHASE." He yells, reaching over and tickling her stomach.

She laughs, kicking out at him.

"Okay." She says through giggles.

"I was thinking about college."

Percy groans.

"Why are you thinking about school on a Saturday?"

Annabeth opens her mouth to protest.

"Oh that's right. You're you."

She punches him in the chest.

"Ow!" He rubs his arm like a wounded animal, "so what about it is stressing you out?"

"The leaving part." She says curtly.

He gets a look, and then she sees the recognition dawn in his eyes.

"Annabeth you're not going to lose me. It's just college."

"You got accepted in California."

"Yeah…"

"And I got accepted in New York."

"I know."

"It's across the country Percy."

"We'll FaceTime. And text. And I'll see you at Christmas and Thanksgiving and summer and maybe even a few weekends."

"It's so far away." She says, sounding like a child.

Percy reaches over and pulls her to his side, and she tries to ignore the fluttering in her chest.

"I'm your bestie for the restie. It'll be fine."

Annabeth snorts.

"Please never say that again."

"Oh you don't like it? Alright it's official. Were besties for the resties."

They both erupt in laughter and the talk of the future ends.

The next day they go to a party, the first Annabeth has ever been to. But Percy drags her along because its Emily's birthday and she wanted her to come along.

So here she is. On a Sunday night. (To be fair it is a three day weekend)

"Want a drink?" Percy yells over the pulsing music. Annabeth shakes her head, but someone shoves a drink into her hand, and she has no choice but to take it.

Percy high fives lots of guys Annabeth has never seen, and she feels wildly out of place. She leaves in search of Emily, and finally goes upstairs, thinking maybe she went into one of the bathrooms or bedrooms where it's quiet.

She opens the first door she sees and sees Emily.

But she isn't alone.

Another boy has her shoved against the wall, and he is kissing her, and she's kissing him back, and Annabeth feels like she may puke.

Emily detaches from the boys mouth and when she sees Annabeth, her face falls.

"Annabeth!"

Annabeth shuts the door behind her, heading down the hallway, back towards the downstairs.

"Annabeth wait!" Emily catches her arm before she reaches the stairs, and Annabeth whirls.

"He loves you." She hisses, shoving Emily away from her.

"Wait! Please! Listen to me!" Emily wails, a tear falling from her eye.

"It's not what you think. This is the only time it's happened."

"Bullshit!" Annabeth says, spitting venom.

"Don't tell him. Please don't tell him. I made a mistake. Please don't tell him." Emily begs, the tears falling quicker now.

"Why wouldn't I?" She asks, practically snarling.

"Because you'd break his heart."

Her words stop Annabeth in her tracks, and she is rooted in place.

"Hes going to find out eventually. You know that." She says, a deep sadness for the secret shes going to have to keep settling in her chest.

"I know." Emily says, eyes dropped to the floor.

"It can't happen again. If it does, and you don't tell him, I will."

"Yes. Yes I promise. Thank you Annabeth, thank you." Then Emily hugs her, and Annabeth keeps her arms pressed to her sides.

They head back downstairs, and find Percy at the snack table. As if he'd be anywhere else.

"Hey!" He kisses Emily quickly, and Annabeth can't help but think of that other boys mouth on Emily's so recently. It makes her feel sick, and she finds a random cup and chugs it.

"Whoa! Slow down Wise Girl!" Percy says, pulling the plastic cup from her hand, laughing.

'He wouldn't be laughing if he knew' A voice says in the back of her head.

'Shut up' She tells it.

"I'm just getting into the party!" She says, smiling a plastic smile.

She spends the rest of the night avoiding Emily and drinks more than she ever has.

With the buzz of alcohol in her brain, fuzzing her thoughts, she actually feels okay.

It is the summer before their senior year, and Percy catches Emily with the same boy from the party, making out in the back of their car.

Annabeth and he are leaving the bookstore when he sees the car. He immediately knows it's hers and wants to go surprise her. Annabeth realizes what's happening too late.

Percy drops his bag when he sees them, and the look on his face rips Annabeth's heart from her chest.

"Percy." She says, reaching for his arm.

He shakes her off, walking towards the car, flinging the door open. She hears Emily swear, and then immediately start apologizing. She climbs out of the car, and her shirt is unbuttoned. Percy backs away, every step laced with shock and pain. The boy hops out the other door, running from the car, but neither Emily nor Percy see it.

"How could you?" He asks, his voice soft and broken.

"I'm sorry-I didn't mean-"

"You meant to. Don't sit here and tell me you didn't mean to. Because if you hadn't meant to you would not have fucking done it."

"Please Percy." Emily whispers.

"I loved you Emily." He whispers back.

"I love you too-"

"No you didn't." He says, letting out a broken laugh.

"Yes I-"

"You don't hurt someone you love Emily. Love doesn't work like that."

Emily starts to cry.

"How long?" He asks.

"Percy-"

"How. Long."

"Two months. And once last year"

Percy is shaking with anger, and Emily is crying harder.

"This doesn't have to be over. We can go back." She says, reaching a hand out to him.

He takes a step back and says

"We can't go back."

And then he turns and walks past Annabeth, getting into her car.

Emily notices Annabeth, and looks as if she's about to speak.

"You did this to yourself. You had someone amazing. He would have done anything for you. And you broke him."

Anything she would have said dies on her lips as Annabeth walks away.

Percy doesn't speak.

Eventually, Annabeth pulls over in an empty parking lot.

"Are you okay?" She says, looking over at him.

Silent tears have been dripping down his cheeks, and she doesn't mention them, because there are some times when people cry, and you know they don't want to, and you let them do it. She lets him cry, and does nothing but grab his hand.

"I'd like to go home." He says, sounding tired.

Annabeth nods, and drives him home.

He gets out of the car, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

She wants to call after him, get him to stay, but she doesn't. She lets him go.

The next Monday, he pretends it didn't happen. Emily doesn't sit with them, and Percy pretends she never did. He jokes with her and she laughs and all is as it was before Emily.

But he seems sad.

It fades as the weeks go by, and Annabeth has her best friend back.

She knows it's selfish, but she's secretly glad he's all hers again.

But now that he is single, the hope is creeping its way back into her heart.

One night they are in Percy's bedroom, her on his computer, him lying on his back on the bed. It has been 3 months since Percy broke up with Emily.

"Can I ask you something?" He says.

"Mhmm." She murmurs, typing away on the computer, looking into the dorms at her college.

"Why do you think she did it?"

Annabeth's hands still on the keys, and she turns the chair.

"I think some people don't realize how good they have it. They want something more, and in the process of trying to get it, they ruin the good thing."

Percy gets off the bed, and walks over to his window, looking out at the stars.

"I wish people would just be happy with what they have." He says.

And she knows right then what she has to do. She can't let this go on.

Annabeth's hands are shaking, and she stands up from the chair.

"I love you Percy." Her voice sounds cracked, and she can barely spit the words out.

"I love you too." He says, sounding distracted.

"No. Not like that."

She feels a surge of strength, and walks to where he is by the window, turning his face in her hands.

And she kisses him.

Every feeling, every hurt, every single emotion she has kept bottled up for the last 5 years is spilling out onto his lips and she lets it.

She wraps her arms around his neck, running her hands through his messy hair.

His arms encircle her waist, bringing her back against the wall, their lips crashing together. His tongue parts her lips, and he runs it against her teeth. She feels a shudder run through her, and she kisses him harder.

It goes on like this for minutes hours days before Annabeth breaks away. Both of them are breathing heavily, and looking at each other.

Percy rests his forehead against hers, her lips still stinging from his kiss.

"How long have you waited to do that?" He asks, out of breath.

"A long time. A really fucking long time." She says, a gurgled laugh breaking from her chest.

"I wish you had done it before. It would have changed everything." He says.

Annabeth feels as if her chest will explode, and she brushes her lips across his. There is no urgency in this kiss, it's a kiss that screams time and future. A kiss that makes everything okay.

"Ill see you soon, okay?" Percy whispers, his hands cupping her face.

Annabeth nods, the tears slipping down her cheeks and wetting Percys hands.

He kisses them away, smiling at her.

"Only a few months. Itll be nothing."

"I know. Try not to fail without me there to help you." Annabeth says, followed by a laugh that is also a sob.

Percy brings her to his chest, hugging her so tightly she can barely breathe, but she doesn't care.

He gives her one last soft kiss, then she nudges him towards the boarding tunnel.

"Love you!" Percy calls out.

She turns, and yells the same in reply.

It is Christmas, and Annabeth hasn't seen Percy since August.

She goes with Sally to pick him up at the airport, both of them gripping each other's hands.

When he comes out, looking tanned and happy, Annabeth can't contain herself. She runs for him, jumping into his arms, her face buried in his neck. He holds her against him, and when he pulls back, he kisses her.

She breaks her rule. And she cries. But the tears are happy, and he deserves them.

And Annabeth Chase has never felt more okay.


End file.
